Zibanejad flashes his potential on gritty goal

Last night in the Binghamton Senators 5-2 win over the Adirondack Phantoms, there was a milestone reached.

Mika Zibanejad scored his first goal in professional hockey, a hard-earned tally in front of the net. It wasn’t the kind of goal that you would typically expect from a player known to have such explosion and skill, but that’s a good thing.

Zibanejad will score plenty of goals with a rocket shot or off a beautiful move that leaves a defenseman, and crowd, stunned.

However, it’s the goals that require grit and determination that should make everyone rooting for the Senators organization feel good about the youngster’s future.

Zibanejad had some people worried with his slow offensive start, but I would attribute much of that to settling in and squeezing the stick too tight. It was obvious that once Zibanejad scored, he became much more in tune with the game.

He stopped thinking and just started playing, which is exactly the way coach Luke Richardson and Binghamton would want it.